Banquet at Mahal Teglinos. Local Recipes and Imported Delicatessen in Pre- and Proto-historic Eastern Sudan

The research project conducted by the Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan of the University of Naples “L’Orientale” and Associazione Internazionale di Studi sul Mediterraneo e l’Oriente (ISMEO), not only provided crucial evidence for the study of the adoption of the Near Eastern package of crops and domestic animals in the region in the 4th millennium BC, but also for the reconstruction of the process of sorghum domestication in the Sahelian belt, and the spread and adoption of this crop up to India in the 3rd–2nd millennia BC. Investigations also revealed intriguing aspects in the way food was processed and consumed in the region. Recent excavations conducted at the site of Mahal Teglinos (K1) led to the discovery of a food preparation and perhaps consumption area dating to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. These investigations also provided insights into the possible origins of the griddles used to cook sorghum and teff bread respectively in some regions of Sudan and on the Ethio-Eritrean highlands. Moreover, the evidence of the possible consumption of delicatessen imported from Egypt during the First Intermediate Period–early Middle Kingdom was collected in the same assemblage, suggesting that the menu included both local and exotic foodstuff. Archaeological excavations showed that not only food preparation and consumption took place very intensively at Mahal Teglinos (K1), but also that true feasts may have taken place there. Finally, some remarks on the cultural context and the possible social meanings of all this are proposed.